Margherita pizza

I think if I had to pick one food to eat for the rest of my life, pizza would be near the top of the list.  It's versatile, you can put anything on it, and at its most basic level, you can't get any more sublime than bread and cheese.  Throw in some tangy tomato slices and some fresh basil bits and whoa.

Those red things are tomato slices, not ginormous pepperonis.

When I make pizza, I like to go ahead and make a whole pan's worth.  If I'm going to mix up the dough, grate the cheese, and prep toppings, I might as well get dinner and a couple lunches out of it.  This recipe fills up a half-sheet pan (or your basic cookie sheet).

Pizza dough

3 c. flour (I like to use 50:50 whole wheat and AP flour, or 33:67 WW:AP for a slightly lighter crust)

2 t. salt

1.5 tsp yeast

about 1 1/4 c. warm water

optional: 2 T oil, 1-2 T honey

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and yeast together.  Add 1 c. water and the oil & honey, if using.  Mix with a spoon or spatula until the dough forms a shaggy ball, adding more water if necessary.  Once it's kind of shaggy, start to knead with your hands.  (To save on clean-up, I use a wide bowl and just knead the dough in the bowl, rotating the bowl to get all the crumbs worked in.  I learned this tip from my mom!)  Once all the flour is incorporated, knead for about 5 minutes or longer if you want until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic and just barely tacky.  If it's too wet, work a little more flour into the dough.  If it's too dry, sprinkle on some water about 1T at a time.  Once it's kneaded, drizzle a little olive oil over the top and roll the dough in it, using the dough to spread the oil over the bowl and make sure the dough is completely covered.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for a couple hours or until doubled.

Margherita Pizza

1 recipe pizza dough

cornmeal

mozzarella cheese

1 awesomely-ripe tomato

fresh basil, cut into chiffonade

parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Take out your pan and sprinkle some cornmeal on it to keep the crust from sticking to the pan.  Be liberal.  Pat the dough into the pan and smush it to cover the pan.  Spread shredded mozzarella cheese to cover the surface of the dough.  I like lots of cheese, so I make sure there's thick, even coverage of the crust.  Take the tomato and use a serrated knife to make nice, thin slices--I cut mine about 1/4 " thick.  Chiffonade the basil and sprinkle it around on your cheese.  Then take your parmesan and grate it over the top of everything.  I added a pretty liberal amount of parmesan, too, because I like cheese a lot and because the parmesan helps it brown up nicely.

Bake the pizza for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is the right shade of brown for you.  Let it sit for a minute or two if you can help it, then slice and enjoy!

This is perfect for a lazy weekend day, but if you think ahead you can make it on a weeknight pretty easily, too--if you mix up the dough before you go to work/school, leave it on the counter all day, it's ready to go when you get home (in fact, that would make for a pretty airy, easy-to-crisp crust, especially if you rolled it thin with a rolling pin).

~Lindsey